


Bittersweet

by Holladay Street (street)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Closeted Character, Episode Related, Episode: s02e12 Chapter Twenty-Five: The Wicked and the Divine, F/F, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 10:05:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15555348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/street/pseuds/Holladay%20Street
Summary: On Veronica's day, she asks for what she wants.





	Bittersweet

She’d almost asked for In the _Arms is an Angel._ It was supposed to be her day, after all.

Her favorite olives on the buffet, the dance floor playlist from her iTunes even though there was a live DJ, the pearls on her dress touched with the palest pink. Her abuelita was right here in Riverdale. And she’d extracted a ceasefire agreement from her parents over the most recent SoDale scheme that had been rocking their dinner table and sending the whole household to bed cold and silent. And Archie would be there - stalwart, striving, relatively straightforward Archie. It was supposed to be her day.

So when she asked, she restrained herself from Sarah McLachlan. That would be too on the nose. Instead she blurted out a different guilty pleasure. And, really, any song would get her what she wanted. Josie hesitated for only a fraction of a second. Ronnie couldn’t tell if it was about to song selection or the whole idea. But in that moment she didn’t care - this was her day, and she wanted Josie.

...

There had been two moments last year.

One during a Pussycats rehearsal she’d sat in on, Josie winked at her from the rehearsal stage, flanked by her backups, breezing through the final chorus of _Call Me Maybe_. Ronnie fought the urge to check the seats behind her; she knew she was the only one in the audience. But that sudden jump-tremble in her chest left her disbelieving. She was used to being desired - she wasn’t used to having her own desire seen.

The second time was in the wings after they’d all performed together. On an impulse she’d grabbed Josie's hand and pulled them together into a deep fold of the curtains. It was dusty and almost completely dark. The ruckus of the next act was damped down by the thick velveteen around them.

“Josie you were completely beautiful out there.” Ronnie whisper. Their hands were still clasped together, close between their bodies now. Ronnie gave a squeeze and felt one in return. Then Josie let go and Ronnie felt her palms whisper up Ronnie’s arms, against the grain of the tiny hairs there. Josie cradled her hands around Ronnie’s face, little fingers curving under her jaw.

“You too Ronnie. That was so good.” Their faces were close but they didn’t kiss. Ronnie didn’t dare, and Josie didn’t seem inclined to start. They tilted their foreheads together, breathing in time. Josie’s little fingers stroked into the soft divots under Ronnie’s ears - symmetrical and rhythmic. When the next act ended the stage manager muttered a cue somewhere behind them and the curtains twitched decisively. They stepped apart, then out into the dim backstage as the curtain unfolded behind them.

 ...

But today she was supposed to have what she wanted. So she took it. It felt like a dream. Processing down the center of the church in her white frock. All eyes were on her, but she was watching the person at the end of the aisle.

_"And it’s a bittersweet symphony"_

She walked slowly, somber, a good Catholic girl. She felt her family’s eyes on her, and her friends perhaps seeing more but still not the whole story of the complications she dealt with every day, and the things more complicated than she could risk.

_"I'm here in my mold but I'm a million different people"_

She chose this one moment, performing her secrets for everyone to see, where nobody would notice. When she reached the foot of the aisle she turned and joined in the next verse, her mic stand a careful 4 feet away from Josie’s. Not touching. In the spotlight. On her day.


End file.
